Family Ties: 'Roswell'

By Ames449 © 2008

Crimson liquid trickled through my fingers and down the back of my hand. I didn’t need to see it; I knew it was blood – my blood – and if the amount pooling behind my palm was anything to go by, I was losing it quickly. I pushed harder against the wound on my left shoulder, wincing at the pain and dropped my head against the headrest behind me, trying to push through the fatigue. I was so tired and keeping my eyes open was becoming a mission in itself.  

“Michael! Open your eyes.” A familiar voice commanded. I hadn’t even realised I closed them. I blinked and rolled my glassy gaze towards the warm body sat next to me.  

“Sorry,” I mumbled.  

“Don’t apologise, just stay awake, or I swear I’ll kick your ass!”  

I could barely see her, but I knew it was Maria. Only Maria DeLuca could threaten me in one breath and sound worried in the next. It was a weird and wonderful talent she had – and one she had definitely inherited from her mom.  

She was pushing her fingers through my sweaty hair, stroking the side of my face, murmuring softly to me under her breath. With her other hand, she took over my feeble attempts to stem the blood pumping from the through-and-through bullet wound to my shoulder. I barely held onto the cry that was forced up my throat as she applied pressure to it.  

“God, Michael,” she sounded apologetic, and scared. “I’m sorry; just… hold on, ok? We’re nearly there.”  

I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed the palpitation that seemed to have made its way up my throat and into my mouth. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to throw up or pass out, but both scenarios looked equally possible.  

Being shot isn’t how you imagine it to be from the movies. It hurts… a lot. My entire left side felt like it was on fire and my arm felt numb. It was dark, but I could see a bright light getting closer. I blinked and tried to focus on it - a pinprick growing into a silver orb. It took me a moment to realise it was a car headlamp coming towards us. It took my muddled mind even longer to realise I was in a car too.  I tried to push through the fog and remember what the hell had happened.  

I remembered being in Laurie’s house… and Grant Sorenson… he’d been… possessed by a Gandarium… by the Queen. He’d shot me… tried to kill Laurie too. I didn’t remember a whole lot after that, but I was guessing I’d lost enough blood to pass out. 

“He needs a hospital.”  

I frowned and licked my lips, my bloodied hand slipping into my lap as I pried my eyes open once more. Laurie… she was here. I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse. I wanted her safe and coming with us… well, that didn’t exactly fall within the ‘safe’ bracket. The Gandarium were gone, but there was still a lot Laurie didn’t know about me – and about my life – and I wasn’t sure I wanted her to know either. 

“No… No hospital.” The second voice I recognised instantly. It was Isabel. I didn’t remember her being with us at the Dupree’s. In fact, I had no idea where the hell she had come from, but it didn’t matter. I felt instantly relieved she was here. I knew Maria would never let anything happen to me, but it was different with Isabel and Max… they would lay down their lives for me, and I would for them.  

“Is…bel?” I tried to speak but my tongue felt too big for my mouth.  

“Don’t talk,” she commanded, her gaze meeting mine in the rear view mirror. “Max is meeting us in Santa Rosa.” 

To heal me, no doubt. I wondered absently how far out we were from the city and how much longer I could hold on. My shirt was stuck to my back with warm blood and Maria was attempting – with little avail - to stop my bodily fluids leaking out of my front. I was losing it quickly and my head was already swirling like a storm tossed ship. 

“Michael!” A sharp slap to my face accompanied the bark of my name. I opened my eyes to half mast and tried to focus, to little avail.

“Sorry…” My head felt fuzzy as hell, my surroundings dripping into one another. It was also getting dark around the edges of my peripheral vision. 

Maria’s hand settled on my face, tipping my head towards her. “Stay awake. Please, you have to stay awake.”  

She sounded panicked, and afraid. I’d never heard her sound like that. Annoyed with me, sure… but scared? Not so much. I figured this situation must have been bad.  

“Must be…dyin’…” I muttered.  

“Don’t say that, you’re not dying,” Maria snapped at me, her voice steely. “You hear me? You are not dying! Not on my watch Space Boy, you got that?”  

I gave her a crooked smile and lifted a heavy hand to wipe at the tears streaming down her cheeks, smearing my blood across her pale skin. 

“Yeah… no dyin’,” I said, pushing the words through unfeeling lips. “Gotcha.” 

“Can’t this hunk of junk go any faster?!” Maria demanded, her gaze shifting towards the drivers seat. Isabel’s eyes rose to the mirror once more.  

“My foot is to the floor. If you want to drive, please, by all means, be my guest.”  

“Can’t you, you know…?” Maria gestured with her hand a little more wildly than was necessary, “make it go faster?”  

Isabel shot her gaze towards Maria, her expression scathing. I recognised that look; I’d had it directed at me on more occasions than I could count.  

“Why don’t you make it go faster?” Isabel drawled.  

“You’re the alien with superpowers,” Maria muttered under her breath.   

“Do I look like-“  

She never got to finish her sentence. My entire side gave a sharp stab of agony and before I could bite on my lip, I whimpered uncontrollably.  

“Michael?” The worried tone was back in Maria’s voice but I was too busy concentrating on dragging air into my lungs to reassure her this time. I felt winded.  

“God,” I panted, squeezing my eyes shut, my right hand clutching my injured left shoulder. “How… much further?” I asked through clenched teeth, still unable to gain control of my breathing. The pain was reaching unbearable levels. I wanted reprieve. I wanted Max to lay his mojo on me and heal this frigging thing.  

“Not far,” Isabel said evasively. Which I translated to mean far enough, but I don’t want you to panic. Too late. 

“I still think we should take him to the hospital,” Laurie said urgently, “he needs a doctor!”  

“Doctors can’t help him,” Isabel snapped.  

Yeah, and neither could Max if Isabel didn’t get moving. I was fading; I could feel myself slipping further into the dark abyss and I figure that once it swallowed me, I wasn’t coming back into the light again. The pain was horrendous, but I was starting to feel a little numb too. I knew that was a bad sign.  

“Sorry…” I hadn’t meant to speak out loud and I think I surprised myself just as much as the others. Maria turned her attention to me, cupping my face in her hands, caressing me softly. 

“This isn’t your fault, Michael.” She’d misunderstood me, thought that I was sorry about being shot. I wasn’t sorry about that – although I probably should have been. It had given Laurie and Maria the time to escape Sorenson and I would never be sorry for that. I was sorry for something else, however. 

“No… about Sorenson,” I murmured, sliding sluggish eyes towards Isabel.  

She didn’t meet my gaze in the mirror, but her mouth tightened a little with pain. Most people wouldn’t have noticed the gesture, but I did. She might never admit it, but Is had cared about him a lot and his death had to be hard on her. Even through the haze in my head, I could feel her pain. She’d liked him – loved him even. Losing him like that had to be hard.  

“That’s… that’s not important right now,” Isabel said, her voice oddly controlled. I probably should have pushed her further but I was so damn tired. No doubt her and Max would have an in-depth conversation about Sorenson once this crap was all over. I was probably the worst person to talk to about this sort of thing anyway. I was hardly winning the Mr Sensitive of year award.  

I blinked slowly and stared up at the ceiling of the car, my vision rolling. Still, I wanted to tell her it was important, that I didn’t want to see her hurting, but my mouth didn’t want to work, in fact none of me wanted to work. The steady vibrations of the engine were soothing, pulling me towards the lull of sleep. 

“Michael? C’mon, stay awake. Michael!” Maria barked my name but it sounded distorted, like she was speaking really slowly. “Isabel, hurry.”  

I tried to focus on her face, but everything was moving – including her. I swallowed the bile creeping up my throat and willed the world to hold still, but it kept swirling around me.  

I was barely holding onto consciousness when the car came to an abrupt stop. I knew Maria was still next to me; even if I couldn’t see her, I could sense her, but my vision was completely lost in a maelstrom of muted colours and blurred images. My stomach ached with a cold emptiness and my head felt heavy. 

The door behind me opened and I was met with a rush of cold air and more oppressive darkness as nightfall crept into the backseat of the car. I shivered as goose bumps formed on my bare arms and closed my eyes.  

“How long since he was shot?” Max… It was Max’s voice. We’d obviously reached our reverend leader in time to save my ass, but I wasn’t really feeling up to spreading the gratitude.  

“About forty minutes,” Isabel sounded from the front seat. Or was it behind Max? I couldn’t tell. Everything sounded oddly warped. “He’s lost a lot of blood, Max.”  

“Don’t worry, Isabel. He’ll be fine.” I inwardly smiled at Max’s belief everything would be OK. I guess it was easy for him to be positive, he wasn’t the one with a hole the size of Roswell in his shoulder.  

“Michael?” I felt his hand on my face and I tried to blink away the fog occluding my sight to look at him. I didn’t manage it. “Can you hear me?”  

I couldn’t answer. I was nearly completely engulfed in blackness now, and I was having a hard time focusing.  

“Hold on, Michael,” Max murmured. “Just hold on a minute longer.”  

And then I felt something warm on my left side. It was red hot, but it didn’t burn me or hurt me, it just felt weird and uncomfortable. I knew the sensation; I’d felt it before, when Max had healed my black eye from Hank – only… this was hotter and my entire side was tingling. He was healing me, but it didn’t matter, it was too late. I was sinking into the abyss, falling further into unconsciousness, my mind emptying of all thoughts. 

The darkness didn’t last long – at least it didn’t feel like it did. I blinked and opened my eyes slowly and carefully. It took a moment for everything to focus but when it did Max was staring down at me, his expression fearful. The relief that melted onto his expression as I shuttered my eyes was unmistakable.  

“Are you alright?” he asked gently.  

Now that was a question. Was I alright? Honestly, I didn’t know. I raised a sluggish hand to my shoulder and probed the area cautiously. It didn’t hurt too much, but there was still a niggling ache there – like an old injury that hadn’t healed completely. 

“I…” My voice sounded hoarse and cracked as I spoke.  

I slid my gaze around the car and realised we were alone. I couldn’t see where the girls had gone, but I figured Isabel had moved Laurie out of sight. She might have been ok with the whole ‘alien’ thing, but she was still pretty freaked about the Sorenson thing. There was no need to rub this in her face too.  

“Can you sit?” Max asked carefully, his eyes locked onto my face, searching for any signs I wasn’t ok.  

I shook my head. I still felt queasy and I really didn’t want to throw up all over my would-be saviour.  

“Ok, just sit still for a moment,” Max said softly.  

“Did everyone get out ok?” I asked, running my tongue over my dry, cracked lips. 

“Kyle and Alex are fine,” he assured me, his mouth pulled into a frown. “It was Grant who shot you.”  

It wasn’t a question, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. 

“Yeah, the Gandarium queen was in him… Duff… she…uh… shot him…he’s dead.” I winced at the memory. I hadn’t exactly been Sorenson’s number one fan, but that didn’t mean I’d wanted the guy in the ground. He’d been killed for something that wasn’t his fault, that had been completely out of his control. I wasn’t sure how the others would feel about that, but I felt responsible as hell for Sorenson’s death. 

“Agent Duff?” There was a tinge of panic in his voice. “F.B.I Agent Duff?”  

“Yeah,” I muttered, swallowing bile.  

The F.B.I weren’t exactly our number one fans, not that they were ours either. Our last run in with them had led to Max being tortured. I could see why he was nervous – especially considering Duff had been sniffing around us for days with the whole Laurie incident.  

“Valenti… he’ll sort it, Maxwell.” I had no doubt Jim would sort this mess out. He’d been watching our backs for so long now that he’d do it automatically. I trusted the man, which was a big one in my book. I didn’t trust anyone, but Valenti…? I knew he’d do what he could to control the damage caused tonight by the Gandarium and the use of my powers in front of Agent Duff.  

“I was…” Max frowned before continuing. “When Isabel phoned I was… I thought you were…”  

I met his anxious gaze and matched his expression. He’d been worried - not that I blamed him. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I was pretty sure I would have been into panic-central by now.  

“Take more than a bullet to kill me, Max,” I assured him with a watery smile. It was meant to be reassuring, but judging from the esteemed leader’s face, he didn’t take it that way. 

“You’re not invincible, Michael!”  

“Well, I’m not dead either,” I said quietly.  

Max scowled angrily. 

“Just because I can heal you, doesn’t mean you should run in blindly-“  

I cut him off, “Whoa, I didn’t run in anywhere blindly, Max,” I snapped. I didn’t mean to, but I was a little defensive about certain crap; my supposed irresponsible behaviour being one. “The son of a bitch shot me from behind, I didn’t even see him.”

“You should have waited-”  

“For what?” I demanded, struggling to sit up. Max made a grab from my biceps, intending to help me up, but I batted his hands away weakly. I didn’t want his help when he was being such an ass. “I didn’t know Valenti was coming! What was I supposed to do? Let Grant kill Laurie and Maria?”  

Max pulled a face at me. I could practically hear the moralistic battle waging within his head. Me or them. It was a choice he’d never want to make, but I guessed if it came down to it, Max would choose me. The four of us – me, Max, Isabel and Tess – we were linked and the key to our whole future depended upon the four of us being together.  

“No, of course not, but-“  

“But what?” I snapped. Max took a shaky breath, his dark eyes meeting mine. I could feel the fear, the worry radiating off him in waves, but there was something else bothering him. “Max? Spit it out already. I’m not a mind reader.” And if I was, I didn’t know about it yet. 

He swallowed hard, his face twitching with barely suppressed emotions.  

“I can’t lose you, Michael.” He averted his gaze.  

I didn’t think he was embarrassed by the words, but he was definitely uncomfortable. Not that I blamed him, I wasn’t exactly the easiest person to talk to. Maria had made me a little more open to the emotional side of my human DNA, but I was still a hard fronted asshole at times. Max’s expression softened me a little though. We’d been through so much crap in the past… and as much as we butted heads, I loved the guy like a brother. I didn’t want to hurt the guy.  

“Look, I’ll uh… I’ll be more careful in future, ok?” I smirked a little, punching him roughly on the arm to gain his attention. “Don’t want you straining anything putting my ungrateful ass back together all the time.”   

His lips twitched into a smile but it slid off his face almost immediately. “You and Isabel - you’re my family, Michael, and I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to either of you.”  

I gave him a long look before wiping my blood stained hands on my jeans. I felt the same way, but there was no way in hell I was continuing with this girly moment. I already felt awkward enough for two lifetimes, but I also knew Max needed this. I could only imagine how scared he’d been waiting for us to arrive.  

I sighed and fingered the bullet hole in my shirt. The skin underneath was completely unmarred and the torn, crimson stained fabric was the only evidence that something had happened tonight. If it wasn’t for Max, it would have been the last something I ever experienced, period. There was definitely a lot to be said for having familial relations with an alien who could heal.  

“I ain’t goin’ anywhere, Maxwell,” I said quietly, and I meant it. I wasn’t going anywhere at all.

The End...

 

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